by Pakistan made a strong start to their ICC T20I World Cup 2026 campaign with a convincing win over the Netherlands in their opening group match. Opting to bowl first, Pakistan’s bowlers delivered a disciplined performance, keeping the Dutch batting lineup under pressure throughout the innings. The Netherlands managed 147 runs for 10 wickets in 20 overs, with Max O’Dowd scoring 34, while Shaheen Shah Afridi starred with the ball, taking 3 wickets
In reply, Pakistan chased the target with calm and confidence. The openers laid a solid foundation, and Faheem Ashraf unbeaten guided the team smoothly to victory. Pakistan reached 147/7 in 19.2 overs, winning the match by 8 wickets. The comfortable win earned Pakistan two valuable points and a healthy boost to their net run rate.
This dominant performance showed Pakistan’s balance and intent early in the tournament, giving fans hope for a strong World Cup run in 2026. The Men in Green have started their campaign exactly the way champions do 💚🔥
Netherlands (20 overs maximum)
| Batting | R | B | M | 4s | 6s | SR | ||
| Michael Levitt | c Shaheen Shah Afridi b Mohammad Nawaz | 24 | 15 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 160.00 | |
| Max O’Dowd | c †Usman Khan b Salman Mirza | 5 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 71.42 | |
| Bas de Leede | c Babar Azam b Mohammad Nawaz | 30 | 25 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 120.00 | |
| Colin Ackermann | b Abrar Ahmed | 20 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 142.85 | |
| Scott Edwards (c)† | c Sahibzada Farhan b Abrar Ahmed | 37 | 29 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 127.58 | |
| Zach Lion-Cachet | c Mohammad Nawaz b Saim Ayub | 9 | 8 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 112.50 | |
| Logan van Beek | c Agha Salman b Saim Ayub | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Aryan Dutt | c Sahibzada Farhan b Salman Mirza | 13 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 162.50 | |
| Roelof van der Merwe | c Agha Salman b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 4 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 | |
| Kyle Klein | not out | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |
| Paul van Meekeren | c †Usman Khan b Salman Mirza | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Extras | (lb 1, w 2) | 3 | ||||||
| Total | 19.5 Ov (RR: 7.41) | 147 | ||||||
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | WD | NB |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 3 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 9.33 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Salman Mirza | 3.5 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 6.26 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | 4 | 0 | 38 | 2 | 9.50 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Shadab Khan | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 6.50 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Abrar Ahmed | 4 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 5.75 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Saim Ayub | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 7.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Pakistan (T: 148 runs from 20 ovs)
| Batting | R | B | M | 4s | 6s | SR | |
| Sahibzada Farhan | c van der Merwe b van Meekeren | 47 | 31 | 53 | 4 | 2 | 151.61 |
| Saim Ayub | c van der Merwe b Dutt | 24 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 184.61 |
| Salman Agha (c) | c Levitt b Dutt | 12 | 8 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Babar Azam | c Klein b van der Merwe | 15 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Usman Khan † | b van Meekeren | 0 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Shadab Khan | c †Edwards b van Beek | 8 | 12 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | c †Edwards b Klein | 6 | 13 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 46.15 |
| Faheem Ashraf | not out | 29 | 11 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 263.63 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | not out | 5 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 55.55 |
| Extras | (w 2) | 2 | |||||
| Total | 19.3 Ov (RR: 7.58) | 148/7 | |||||
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | WD | NB |
| Aryan Dutt | 4 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 8.25 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Logan van Beek | 4 | 0 | 46 | 1 | 11.50 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Klein | 3 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 7.66 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Roelof van der Merwe | 3 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 4.33 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul van Meekeren | 4 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 5.00 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Bas de Leede | 1.3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 8.66 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
